Young Women in Excellence Talk: Spiritual Bonfires of Testimony

I was supposed to speak at Young Women in Excellence night... I was all prepared, however 15 minutes before I was supposed to be there, we had a family emergency and I ended up not being able to go because we were at Urgent Care. All is well now, but I feel really bad. Anyways, just thought I'd post what I wrote for the occasion... because Elder Wirthlin is awesome and has wonderful insight.

I wanted to start off by saying thank you for the honor of speaking tonight. I haven’t been in Young Women's or had a calling in it for 12 years, but my love for the program is strong. You are a rare group of girls, beautiful and radiant. While I don’t know you all on an individual basis, I look at you and see pure, virtuous young ladies making a huge impact in this world and am humbled to be before you. I’ve prayed every night to know what needs to be said and I pray right now that the spirit will guide us and edify us... and that I wont bore the snot out of you.

The theme for tonight is the "purse-suit of happiness". I love that because happiness isn’t just going to hit you on the head one day. It’s something you have to actively seek for. Happiness comes in many shapes and forms. Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin wrote a book entitled Finding Peace in our Lives and I wanted to share with you thoughts from it, specifically the chapter Spiritual Bonfires of Testimony. Because I know that true happiness is having a testimony of God the Father and His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Before I do so, I’ll give you a brief background of my experience from Young Women's. We had a small group of girls, so much so that there was usually me, maybe another girl and my best friend who wasn’t a member at mutual activities. I wish I could say I was mature enough to go to activities because I had a deep desire to learn and better myself, but in all honesty it was to watch the guys play basketball after. My leaders loved me but I’m pretty sure I was super annoying to them because I’d always try to ask them off the wall questions. For example, one leader worked at a mental institution and I remember trying to get her to talk about the people there and if she worried they’d ever break out and find her. We were in the car for 20 minutes together and by the end she put her hand on my shoulder, thoroughly patient yet glad to get rid of me and said, Goodnight Sofia. Goodnight. I’m sure you are all wiser than I was. All your leaders speak very very highly of you.

I loved Girl’s Camp. It was a time to learn, feel the spirit and just enjoy life. My best friend that I mentioned would come and I’m grateful because I’m hoping those were the seeds planted that will be sown later on in life. One year we were camp mail women and we wore pink kimonos everywhere walking with wooden canes from Tijuana. Young Women’s is an inspired organization that is there to help us have happy memories. Not only that, but it can be a safety for us to help us through the drama of middle school and highschool. I held on to Young Womens. I went to church, I went to mutual. I attended seminary. I made a lot of mistakes and was far from perfect but Young Women’s and Personal Progress helped me build upon my testimony. Others from my laurel class didn’t see the value in it and 3 chose alternate lifestyles, 1 went to BYU met a non-member and married him and fell away from the church and 1 other just went inactive. I don’t know all the details of the younger girls but out of a group of 20, me and a girl named Ronnie stayed active. It’s pretty sad statistics and I wonder what happened. But at the same time I don’t. In two words, wolves happened.

Elder Wirthlin tells of large packs of quote “wolves that roamed the countryside of Ukraine many years ago. It made travel very dangerous. The wolf packs were fearless. They were not intimidated by people or by any of the weapons available at that time. The only thing that seemed to frighten them was fire. Consequently, travelers who found themselves away from cities developed the practice of burning a large bonfire and keeping it burning through the night. As long as the fire burned brightly, the wolves stayed away. But if the fire burned out, the wolves would move in for an attack. Travelers understood that building and maintaining a bonfire was not just a matter of convenience or comfort; it was a matter of survival.”

We obviously don’t have to look far to see wolves all around us. They are on shirts, bumper stickers, hats, cups, license plates... you name it.

 

So what is the moral of the story and the point of my ramblings? Don’t go to UNR, go to BYU.... goooooooooooooo cougars!! UNR may pay our bills, but I’ll always prefer my alma mater. (**Sidenote dear readers, our local university has the mascot of wolf pack as pictured and my husband works there as an administrator)

All joking aside. Elder Wirthlin mentions some pretty vivid scriptures “1 Peter 5:8 describes our, “adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, that walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” The Lord told the Prophet Joseph Smith, “Enemies prowl around thee like wolves for the blood of the lamb.” D&C 122:6.”

The name of the program tonight is Young Women in Excellence, and you can tell. Because you step outside of this room and you see females who parade their bodies as trash. We live in Nevada, so we get an extra dosage of visuals that are nothing short of horrific, yet so sad. You step outside this room and hear girls with mouths that need to be duck-taped for the good of society and decency of the human race. You step outside this room and there are girls having babies, unwed, unskilled, uneducated and unprepared for the consequence of their choice. You step outside this room and you take a big breath and thank the Lord that He is the Lord and that you don’t have His job. It seems overwhelming that there are so many willing to run with the pack and be led captive into misery. However, you take one step in this room and you can breath. You take one look around and here, here are Young Women in Excellence. Here are the Young Women, the leaders, the examples, the virtue and goodness that make the rest of us have hope. And why are you excellent? Because of your light.

Happiness is having the bonfire of a testimony. Perhaps it may be just a small one, perhaps it is a raging inferno ready to burn the desert we live in down... either way, we can always add fuel to our testimony and make it stronger.

Our dear apostle Elder Wirthlin suggests “3 ways that will fan the flame of personal testimony as a protection against the wolves of evil that are prowling all around us to threaten our spiritual security. First, our testimonies must be built upon a solid foundation of faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ.” Can anyone recite from memory Helaman 5:12? “And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.”

I was never a cheerleader, I was too self conscious of my thighs and not willing to work out. With that said, I still would rather watch cheerleaders than a football game. Something about guys in spandex who grunt and bash heads has no relevance to me. So back to cheerleaders.... when I think of cheerleaders making a pyramid formation, they always put the more robust girls on the bottom? Why? Obviously the waifs aren’t going to be able to support everyone. So it is with the Big Man upstairs, they don’t call Him the Big Man for nothing. He is all wise, all capable and ready to support us in all our righteous endeavors.

The second idea to fan the flame of personal testimony is, “We must repent humbly and sincerely.” I love the analogy Elder Wirthlin makes,“Anything that does not draw us closer to God takes us away from him.”

And the last idea he mentions is this, “Third, we must follow the example of the Savior.” How can we have a testimony of someone we don’t follow? We’re not asked to turn water into wine or atone for the sins of the world. 1 John 2: “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” John continues on in Chapter 3 “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”

What is the day the widow’s husband died? Leave a plant on her doorstep with a card that says, today is a hard day, but know you are loved more than words can say. Smile and wave at the car next to you. Say hello to people you don’t know at church. Post Ghandi quotes on facebook about making the world a better place.

The pursuit of happiness is consistently striving to gain a testimony of God the Eternal Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. And today’s as good a day as any to decide what you know to be true. A testimony isn’t thanking people, a testimony is BAM... The Lord lives, I know this is true. We need to be ready to bear testimony at anytime. Be confident in the knowledge you’ve gained.

What is our happily ever after if we do so? Mosiah 2:41 “And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.” Never ending happiness!! Cha Ching!!

I’d like to close with this Luis Vuiton purse. It’s worth I’m sure some money. My Aunt gave it to me when I was a young woman. I loved it because my Aunt gave it to me but I've never used it because I'm happy with my $3 clearance purse from Target. Recently we had a garage sale and I wanted to sell it because frankly, I never use it. I wanted $20 and this lady cruises up in her Landrover and says she’ll give me $5. This purse is worth so much more. Forget that. I want you all to know that your testimonies are worth more than you can ever ever ever possibly imagine! You are all precious daughters of God. Wolves will try to sell you short and undermine your worth... but you are so much more. You are God’s instruments to usher in the 2nd coming of the Lord. Know your Lord and be confident in your testimony.

I bear my personal witness the Jesus Christ lives. He is our very best friend. He is with us to support us and bear us up in our weakest moments. He will never fail us. He is our source of true joy. Heavenly Father is our Father. We are His children. He wants us to be like Him and has provided a perfect plan for this to happen. I love and worship the Father and the Son and testify that They are mighty to save and all powerful. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Thanksgiving FHE's

Now that the month is almost over... maybe I should post some Thanksgiving FHE ideas.... ugh, real slick Sofia. Thanks.

This is one of my absolute favorites because I really get to see what my children have learned Gospel wise and what some of their favorite scripture stories of the moment are. Click HERE for the FHE.

This is a picture of our outcome this year. I just hot glued a scrap of fabric to the poster board to make a tablecloth. The girls also created a fancy centerpiece out of their magazine findings. I love that my 4 year old cut out corn and said, "This is the sheaves of corn that Pharaoh dreamed about and Joseph figured out what it meant."

Another fantastic one was counting our blessings. We filled up an entire poster board (Thank you 2 for $1 at the Dollar Store) with 104 different things we were thankful for. Star Wars, Snape and Nipple Latches were just a few of our many things we're thankful for.

For more gratitude ideas, just click on gratitude on my sidebar.

And if you're just looking for a fun Turkey Art Project here are a few:

The girls picked a few "feathers" from Wal-Mart paint section and cut slits on the sides to make them more textured.

This was crayon and watercolor. First they draw the shape of the turkey with a black sharpie.

Um, greatest wings ever. This makes me smile everyday. $1 store bandaids make feathers and of course, turkeys need long hair like Rapunzel. Third eyes? I don't know where that comes from.

Draw an outline of a turkey, let the kiddos cover with painters tape on the line, then marble roll!! It kind of looks like a sun, but if you look closely you'll see feet and a waddle.

November 2011 LDS Primary Sharing Time Ideas and Activities

My sweet Elijah. I hold him and know reverence. Reverence for a loving Heavenly Father who is all powerful and wise and who blesses us with such joy.

Monthly Theme: Reverence Is Love and Respect for God.
Monthly Scripture:  "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matthew 22:37).

Week 1 Reverence is love and respect for God.

* Make a giant Venn diagram (2 circles overlapping in the middle) On one side brainstorm all the different ways to show love and on the other side ways to show respect. Ideas that are the same for both go in the middle!

* Million Dollar Question Minus the Million Dollars.... When was the only time we see Jesus get really upset in the scriptures? When people weren't showing REVERENCE for His Father's house, the temple! Have 6 children come to the front. Ask the children questions having to do with the story, when they answer correctly hand them a fake million dollar bill. BUT... is money everything? What do we learn from the story?!?! Let them crumple up their bill and try to toss it in the garbage can naming a blessing that comes from being reverent. (E.g. Peace, Happiness, Eternal Life, Holy Ghost will be close...)

* Have a mother bring in a young baby if possible. When we see a beautiful baby who is sleeping, how should we act around it? Are we loud? Do we jump up and down and poke the baby? Ask the children what we do with young babies and how do we show them love? There are some things in life where we just slow down, are a little more soft, a little more quiet and little more peaceful. Just like we show love and respect for a young baby with gentleness we can do so with Heavenly Father. Have 6 different items for the children to choose and show how we treat that item with respect and love. For example, you could have scriptures. We don't throw them or rip the pages. When we treat our scriptures right are we showing reverence for Heavenly Father? Another example could be a picture of the temple. Have the primary child show whether we walk or run around the temple grounds. More items could include: hymn books, a paper doll with modest clothes on, sacrament cup, a primary chair, a Family Home Evening packet, an American flag,

* Reverence races!! Invite 4 children to come up front. Who can be the most reverent? Invite them to go to the other side of the room... Speed is not the key to winning the race! Once they cross the finish line, invite them to share a reason why they love their Heavenly Father. Invite a couple teachers to race too!

Week 2 Reverence during the sacrament helps me to remember Jesus Christ.

* Does Mom and Dad make you sit during sacrament without going to the bathroom? Is that unfair? Food for thought... they are only following what the PROPHET has said... "Visits to the restroom and drinking fountain should take place before the meeting begins” (Spencer W. Kimball, We Should Be a Reverent People, 4–5). And of course, if it's an emergency there is no problem... better out than in!


* "Your focus needs more focus." Mr. Miyagi from the Karate Kid. Learning how to focus for 6-8 minutes while the sacrament is being passed can be a lifelong challenge! Have about 10 different questions about reverence and the sacrament. For each question answered, then teach a karate move. (This can seem counter intuitive for the weeks theme, however... if you make your expectations clear- No talking while we practice our moves, focus on the movement not sound!- then it'll work!) Our focus always needs more focus!!  D&C 88:67 "And if your eye (or you could say focus!!) be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things."

* Make reverence books for sacrament! Invite the children to draw pictures of their favorite stories of the Savior to look at during next week's sacrament.

* Have a large plate drawn on the chalk board. Invite primary friends to come draw some of their very favorite foods. What do you think Jesus enjoyed food wise? We know that at the end of our Savior's earthly life He had a final meal, the last supper. Display GAK picture. What do you think He and His best friends felt as they knew this was the last time they would eat together? Jesus gave us the ordinance of the Sacrament at that last supper. What would be a "recipe for reverence" when we take the sacrament? Pass out some paper and let the children write down their ideas or write them on the chalk board.

Week 3 I can show reverence for sacred places and things.

* HERE is a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful link to The Friend with a bunch of different ideas. I liked the tour of the building idea especially! Sister Pearce also has a wonderful chapel cut-out that would be fun to do!!

* Does anyone have a special spot? A tree house or a reading nook or a clubhouse?? Perhaps they could draw a quick picture of it on the chalkboard. I have a special rock ledge that overlooks the desert. It's my spot that I love. Even though there is lots of brown and yellow, the sky is always blue and bright and clear above me. How would you want someone to treat your special spot? Just like we want people to be respectful of our special spots, we need to be respectful of the Lord's special spots!

* President David O. McKay said, “I look upon reverence as one of the highest qualities of the soul” ("Lesson 7: Reverence," Gospel Principles and Doctrine) Have some pictures of things that are "high" in the sky... kites, airplanes, tall buildings, clouds, birds... etc. Attach questions, songs and scriptures having to do with reverence to the pictures and let the children come up, one at a time to choose a "high" picture. Repeat throughout the lesson the above quote... reverence is one of the highest qualities of the soul!!

* Sing I am A Child of God. What does the chorus say? Lead me, guide me. Have a mystery path with arrows around the room leading to a giant question mark. Invite children to walk along the path if they can answer a question or read a scripture about reverence. Where does reverence lead us? 

"As with the other principles of the gospel, reverence leads to increased joy. We must remember that reverence is not a somber, temporary behavior that we adopt on Sunday. True reverence involves happiness, as well as love, respect, gratitude, and godly fear. It is a virtue that should be part of our way of life. In fact, Latter-day Saints should be the most reverent people in all the earth." ("Lesson 7: Reverence," Gospel Principles and Doctrine)

* With the Senior Primary: Have them look in the hymn book all the songs that are listed under reverence. Have them work in partners and find something interesting to share with the entire primary about reverence. Sing a couple songs!

Week 4 Reverence for God helps me respect and love others.

* Give the children a signal. When you raise your hand in the air you'll need everyone to stop talking immediately. Tell the children to talk to a friend next to them and when you raise your hand, they need to stop right away. Does it get pretty loud? Do it again and this time you're going to teach the lesson while everyone is talking. Raise your hand. Did anyone hear what the lesson was about?

“The world grows increasingly noisy...When we meet to learn the doctrines of the gospel, it should be in a spirit of reverence. …"

* HERE is a lesson I CAN BE REVERENT from the Primary 1 manual.
* Have a cookie with M&M's in it. If you eat the entire cookie, will you eat the M&M's?? Have a bar of soap. If you wash your arm, will your hand get clean? Sometimes, when you do one thing, another thing just happens! Having reverence for Heavenly Father creates something else.... it helps me love and respect others!
*Here's a thought for a FHE. My Yaya is Greek Orthodox which means her home is filled with lots of pictures of Saints!! I grew up looking at those pictures with respect because of the stories behind them. For me personally, I have no problem sharing with children respect for other religions. I would show a picture of a Greek Orthodox Saint and tell the beautiful story behind it. In our church, saints are a little different, but isn't it nice to know we all believe in saints! In our church, we are the saints! Hopefully we act so! And what is one quality that is Saint like??

"Perhaps above all, a saint is reverent. Reverence for the Lord, for the earth He created, for leaders, for the dignity of others, for the law, for the sanctity of life, and for chapels and other buildings are all evidences of saintly attitudes. …A reverent saint loves the Lord and gives highest priority to keeping His commandments"
(Book of Mormon Teacher Resource Manual, (2004), 236-240)

Almost Complete Bliss...

D&C 101:36

"Wherefore, fear not even unto death; for in this world your joy is not full, but in me your joy is full."

A few months ago I was having a panic attack. I was pregnant with our 4th child and was sure it was a girl, but the next day was the big ultrasound and I wanted a name for a boy just in case. My husband is pretty easy going but for some odd reason he "thought" that since he's a man, he should name the boys.

Do you hear my silent chuckle.

Well we narrowed it down and decided within 15 minutes. We're just cool like that.

Elijah Cedron.

First of all, Elijah is the Samuel L. Jackson of all the prophets. Mocking the priests of Baal? Calling fire down from heaven?

Awesome.

Then I was reading in the New Testament and came across Cedron which is a valley in Jerusalem where the Mount of Olives is.

Elijah Cedron. It was well.

And that's a good thing because I guess I wasn't so sure it was a girl and I was then prepared for the little boy to come to our home. I'm big on listening to the radio after finding out the gender of our children because call me crazy, but sometimes I find simple messages in them to me. This time 2 songs came on that stuck out to me... the first was "Girls" (All I really want is girls) by the Beastie Boys which I found totally entertaining. And the 2nd was "Come Together" by the Beatles.

To say that I live in fear wouldn't be exactly correct. I'm for the most part peaceful and calm. I live my life normally and healthy. I do the things I should do. I trust God because I know He knows better than I do. With that said, in all honesty, I still am anxious because I know pain. I know sorrow. I know what it's like to have to live without a child. But like I said, I trust Heavenly Father. I have faith and it's like this song was saying to me, it's OK. I just need to "come together, right now, over me (Elijah)".

Well, let me just add my testimony that our loving Father knows us individually. I was able to go to the temple a week before my sweetheart was due and I felt this overwhelming feeling that I am known. That my name is important and that my son's name is important. And what do you know... in General Conference there was a whole talk about Elijah!!

What is my point in posting about this? I have no clue. I just felt like after hearing THIS in conference I needed to add my witness that things happen in life for a reason. We may feel like all is lost, but our agency is never lost. We can choose to follow Christ always no matter what. We can choose to love our Heavenly Father and trust that our joy will be full again.

If you've lost a baby, I promise to be your breastfeeding buddy in the Resurrection and we'll nurse our little ones under the Tree of Life!

Hospitals are stressful and I was super nervous after Eli was born. However, after I received a priesthood blessing I felt much better and much more calm. I heard my angel baby (my sweet Joe) say very clearly, "Mommy, perfect love casteth out fear."

I have a new sweet perfect beautiful baby boy. He was 7 lbs 2 oz and 22" long. (The smallest of all my children) He will be 1 month on Oct. 15 and is up to 9 lbs. His sisters constantly want to hold him and touch and love him. They are the best big sisters ever. We are so blessed.

With that said, I'm sorry if I don't get ideas posted in a timely manner. Please rest assured, I'm still keeping up the blog. But yeah, if things aren't up it's because I'm cuddling my sweet Eli and smothering him with kisses or just being amazed by my sweetest blessings.

Remembering 9/11: Using our hands for good activity

This image is by Kathy Barbaro of Artprojectsforkids.org

9/11 is a sad day.

It's pretty overwhelming that evil can be so powerful and cause so much destruction. I was reading some numerical statistics about the deaths of that day and thought I'd share.

Out of 2,819 people that died 403 of those deaths were community helpers like firefighters, paramedics and cops who lost their lives trying to help.

Our hands have so much power. They have power to destroy or build. To put down or lift up.

Looking to the example of the Savior we see the following about His hands:

"For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still."

Isaiah 9:12

"Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear" Isaiah 59:1

"O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel."

Jeremiah 18:6

Matthew 12- The miracle and healing by Jesus on the Sabbath had to do with a man with a withered hand

"And how merciful is our God unto us, for he remembereth the house of Israel, both roots and branches; and he stretches forth his hands unto them all the day long"

Jacob 6:4

What are other examples of Christ using His hands for good?

HERE is a simple art project as pictured above. I did it with my children and we talked about 9/11. We talked about how things happen that are very bad and yet we still can help the cause of good by using our hands like the Savior did.

I'm so sorry if you've lost a loved one today. God bless you and God bless America.

Gospel Leaves : A Simple FHE Game or Sabbath Day Activity

Image courtesy creative commons license flickr.com by Andrea_44

1. Gather some leaves.

I used some paper ones I bought at World Market on clearance last year for 10 cents.

2. On the back of the leaves write 1, 2 or 3 in permanent marker.

3. Gather your supplies: A Gospel Art Book, Dry Erase Board/Marker.

4. Have your children scatter the numbered leaves all around your floor.

5. Choose a song to hum to while you pretend to rake up your leaves. Some excellent ones would include

It's Autumntime CS pg #246

Autumn Day CS pg #247

 When Mom claps, pick up one leaf!

6. What's the number on back? If it's a:

1 - Tell a Gospel story using the Gospel Art Book

2 - Sing a favorite Gospel Song

3 - Draw a Gospel picture on the dry erase board and have others guess what it is!

Happy Fall!!

Simple FHE: What do you want to share?

    +

= Wow! That was a great one!

1. Gather up at least 20 of your old friend magazines. Give each person 2-3 post it notes, depending on how many people are in your family and how long you want the Family Home Evening to last.

2. Take 5 minutes and let everyone browse the magazines and find 2-3 things they'd like to share. Whether it's pictures or stories, the Friend teaches us about Christ. What does the thing you've found teach us about Christ? Have them take their post it and mark their spots.
3. Share!! Go around and have each person share one of the things they've chosen. Repeat 2-3 times with the other things chosen.
4. Bear Testimony.
5. Sing songs! Are there any songs that come to mind with the things you've chosen??
6. Ask children how they feel....do you think the Holy Ghost is speaking to them and telling them of the truth they've shared?

Everyone is important in the family!! Make sure everyone is listening to each other!! Thank each other for what you've shared!!

October 2011 LDS Primary Sharing Time Helps and Ideas

Prayer in Wat Pho Image courtesy creative commons license flickr.com by Bo47 July 2008

Monthly Theme: Prayer Is Reverent Communication Between God and Me

Monthly Scripture: "If any of you lack wisom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him." James 1:5

A good tool to use as you prepare for this month is the Prayer Scale in Preach My Gospel (Page 95!!) Just take the quiz and see how you personally are doing when it comes to prayer.

Week 1 I can pray to Heavenly Father.

* Play a simple game of things you can do. Can you hop on one foot? Can you rub your belly and pat your head at the same time? Can you snap 5 times? Can you pray to Heavenly Father? You sure CAN!! Have 2 cans in front, one with simple things to do and be active. The other can has questions, songs and scriptures having to do with prayer. Have a child come to the front and choose one strip from each can. Let them choose which one they want to do/answer first.

* HERE is a great sharing time from The Friend by Sydney Reynolds. There are lots of different ideas to spark thought. Also there is a color by number handout.

* LOVE LOVE LOVE these prayer reminders and simple reader's theater on prayer found HERE in the Friend.

* Mac the Prayer Cat would make an excellent felt board story for the younger primary!

* HERE is a handout with a secret code to find out about 8 different prayers we say in church.

Week 2 The scriptures teach me how and when to pray.

* Wow. Can I just say how much I love the Friend. You just can't go wrong. HERE is another great sharing time on the language we use with prayer.

* The following is from Doctrines of the Gospel Student Manual, Chapter 12. It gives an outline and scriptures to support, that could be excellent in helping to prepare for this week's theme.
"C. The scriptures tell us what we should pray for.

1. We should pray for the companionship of the Holy Ghost (see 3 Nephi 19:9 ; Moroni 4:3 ).
2. We should pray for forgiveness of our sins (see Joseph Smith—History 1:28–29 ).
3. We should ask for strength to resist temptation and overcome opposition (see Alma 34:23 ; D&C 10:5 ; Matthew 26:41 ).
4. Husbands should pray for their wives and children (see 3 Nephi 18:21 ; Alma 34:21, 27 ).
5. We should pray for all people—both righteous and wicked, friend and enemy (see Numbers 21:7 ; Matthew 5:44 ; Enos 1:11–14 ).
6. We should petition the Lord concerning our crops, herds, fields, and flocks (see Alma 34:20, 24–25 ). "

* Tell the children you have a funny joke for them. It goes, "Knock Knock". They say, "Who's there?" You say "Banana." They say, "Banana who?" You say, "Banana." They say, "Banana, who?" (Do that about 5 more times....) Finally you say, "Orange." They say, "Orange, who?" and you end with "Orange you glad I didn't say banana?"
Is this a repetitive joke or what! What does it mean to repeat? Can anyone think of what commandment has been most repeated from the dawn of time?

“No divine commandment has been more frequently repeated than the commandment to pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ” (Marion G. Romney, in Conference Report, Oct. 1979, 20; or Ensign, Nov. 1979, 16).

* If you cut a piece of paper in half, hot dog wise, then fold it into fourths or fifths, you'll have an accordion style book:

You can make it as large or as small as you like. Have the children make a "How and When to Pray" book based on what different examples from the scriptures have taught us. Have 4 -5 different adults man a station with such an example and visual. Have crayons at each station and let the children draw/write what they have learned, one page of the book for each station.

* Write on the board some question words: Who, What, Where, When, Why and How.... Have a simple prayer stick... a thin wooden pole/stick with a picture of 2 hands praying on the end of it. NOW SING!! Sing! Sing! Sing!! In the children's songbook there are 18 wonderful songs listed under prayer. Sing the songs and invite 2 or 3 children to come up after to use the prayer stick and point to a question word. What did the song teach us in answer to that question?

D&C 25:12 "For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads."

Week 3 and 4 Heavenly Father hears and answers my prayers.

 

* One time, we were in the car with my 2 aunts who aren't really religious. They asked my 6 and 4 year old to sing a song. Then my girls busted out at least 15 children's songbook songs.... with a Pink Floyd one in there too. Because I've taught them that if a teacher ever tries to squash their creativity they are to stand on their desk and sing "All in all you're just another... brick in the wall...." I look forward to the day.... But I digress. One of the songs they sung was "God is Watching Over All" CS pg. 229. It's not online because of copyright restrictions. However, my aunts were moved to tears by this song because even though it's short... it's fabulous and true. It was a tender missionary moment.

 

You can make stars, planets, sparrows out of paper and have questions, songs and scriptures on the back corresponding with the weeks theme. Put them on the board. Pass a bean bag reverently around while you sing that song (CS pg. 229) and who ever it lands on can come up front and choose one. God is watching over all and will always hear and answer our prayers.

 

* Have 2 children come up front. Invite one to say Hello to the other. Could they hear that? What if the child went to the back of the room and said hello? What if they left the room? Our ears are pretty good, but definitely not as good as Heavenly Father's!! Where and when can He hear us? Have about 5 different paper ears with scriptures having to do with "how" Heavenly Father answers our prayers. Divide into groups and read the scripture and share experiences. Then after 3 minutes invite a group leader to come up and share what they talked about.

 

* Write Matthew 7:7 incorrectly on the chalkboard. "Ask, and it shall not be given you; seek, and ye shall not find; knock, and it shall not be opened unto you" Invite children to come and erase what is wrong with the scripture. Is our Heavenly Father cruel and mean? Absolutely NOT!!!!! He wants to hear and answer our prayers, so it's up to us to pray!

 

Have 3 stories of different people in the scriptures who prayed. Tell the children you are going to briefly tell the story, but make a couple mistakes as you tell the story and hold up a visual for that story. See if the children can figure out what you said wrong! For example, the brother of Jared was a very faithful person. He loved God and trusted in Him completely. When He prayed to Heavenly Father, he was told that they must sail away to a promised land. The brother of Jared wanted to know how they would cross the great waters in darkness but the prayer wasn't heard and he had to use flashlights. They made it safely to the promised land.

 

For senior primary they can come up with their own examples and mistake for the Primary to figure out!

 

* Invite to children to come up front and have a conversation about how their day is going. Give them a secret instruction that you're going to try to get in the conversation too, but they are to IGNORE YOU!!

Has anyone in the room ever been ignored by raise of hands? How does it make you feel? Do you think Heavenly Father is pretty busy and maybe sometimes ignores us?

 

1 John 5:14 "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us"

 

Point out that God always will hear our prayers, but He might not answer the way we want. He's NOT ignoring us. He just knows more than we do, and that's a good thing!

 

* Jeremiah 33:3 "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."

 

Have a cell phone up front. Have an adult sitting by a cracked open Primary door. Prepare that adult before hand with some sort of signal that you're ready for them to call your cell phone... like you scratch your head or say loudly, "Thanks!! On to our next idea." They will call your phone and a primary child has to answer it and answer the question they ask over the phone. Give that person a list of 10 different questions. For example, How does Heavenly Father answer our prayers? Can you name a time Heavenly Father has answered one of your prayers? Please give an example from the scriptures of someone who prayed and was heard. Can you please tell the primary to sing A Child's Prayer (CS pg. 12)

 

* Have about 6 different small "situations" where Primary children could offer advice or counsel. For example, " Mary is going to a new school. She is scared. What could she do?" Have a primary child give her some advice. Another example could be, "Jared just found out his best friend stole $10 from the teacher's purse. What could he do?" Is it good to listen to our primary friends and teachers when we need help? Yes! Even better our family! Even better Heavenly Father!! But should we ever give Heavenly Father advice? If there was a flood should we maybe pray that He clean it up quickly so more people don't get hurt? When we pray, we need to be respectful and know that Heavenly Father knows best!!

 

Jacob 4:10 "Wherefore, brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand. For behold, ye yourselves know that he counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works."

Profound Silence....

Image from Swamisportswear.com. I am in no way endorsing their site.

I just did a google search and was disturbed by the color and price of these sweats. $13 each.

I've had a couple times in life when I've had sharing time and wondered... what's up with the noise? I have eyeballs, so I put them to good use. When I've looked around, it's not the kids talking but ADULTS.

Why?

I've often wondered why it's acceptable to wear sweats in public. Perhaps it's a Reno, NV thing and perhaps I secretly wish I could wear sweats and be accepted by society, but then I stop.

I realize it's wrong. There are just some things we shouldn't do.

Sweats is numero uno. Talking while the leader up front is.... numero dos. Especially when that leader is bearing testimony.

A scripture, Alma 55:17 says, "Yea, even to their women, and all those of their children, as many as were able to use a weapon of war, when Moroni had armed all those prisoners; and all those things were done in a profound silence." Granted, we may not be trying to save our village while the Lamanites are passed out drunk... I'm not even saying Primary needs to be a place of profound silence. All I'm saying is how do we expect children to show reverence when we don't?

I'll get off the soapbox now. But think about the sweats thing.... really.

A Simple Equation for Fun Spiritual Learning

      +     =

Fun Family Home Evening

Play a round of the alphabet game by rolling the dice with the theme of "The Gospel".

The alphabet game is where you go around in the circle and each person has a letter from the alphabet and comes up with a word starting with that letter based on your theme. Roll the dice (from the game of scattegories) to see what letter you get.

If you can't think of anything, open up the Gospel Art Book and look around. Talk about the word you choose. I also used a dry erase board to write down all the words we came up with.

I was really proud of my 4 year old coming up with the word "Follow" for F. Some other examples were "Temple" for T, "Priesthood" for P, "Night time Prayers" for N.....They liked the activity so much that I'm leaving it out for them to do whenever they want. It'd also be a great game to play on Sunday.

**Also, if you don't have a dice, you could just draw letters written and cut out on paper, from a sack.

September 2011 LDS Primary Sharing Time Helps and Ideas

PlayMobils of the World Image courtesy creative commons license flickr.com by fdecomite 8/2007

Monthly Theme: The Gospel Will Be Preached in All the World

Monthly Scripture: "This gospel shall be preached unto every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." D&C 133:37

Week 1 The scriptures teach that the gospel will be preached in all the world.

*President Ezra Taft Benson taught: “We are commanded by God to take this gospel to all the world. That is the cause that must unite us today. Only the gospel will save the world from the calamity of its own self-destruction. Only the gospel will unite men of all races and nationalities in peace. Only the gospel will bring joy, happiness, and salvation to the human family” (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson [1988], 167).

Bring in a Jenga game. (A tower of blocks would work too!) Demonstrate with the children's help that the world is making mistake after mistake... take away some blocks. Sin and error make the world a shaky place and not very stable. However, if we are good missionaries and share the gospel, it's like putting the blocks back. We're helping others learn about truth, and like President Benson taught, only the gospel will save the world from it's own self destruction!!

* Have a picture of the tree of life displayed. Have the children tell you what they know about Lehi's and Nephi's Vision. Was the fruit of the tree only for people in Korea? Or perhaps only for people in Chile?

1 Nephi 8:30 "But, to be short in writing, behold, he saw other multitudes pressing forward; and they came and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree."

These multitudes were ALL the different people of the world! Have different cut outs of apples with different flags of the countries around the world on them. Attach songs, scriptures and questions having to do with missionary work on them and let the children come and choose one at a time. The love of God is for everyone, so we need make sure we do our part to help others to the iron rod and press forward!!

* Divide into small groups of about 4-5 children. Give each group a blue balloon that you've added some construction paper continents to. You could easily sew some world bean bags (blue felt with a green felt continent on it) instead- that would guarantee less rowdiness than balloons. Introduce and write the topic of this week's lesson on the board, "The scriptures teach that the gospel will be preached in all the world." Have the children spend 3 minutes passing the balloon to each other and saying what the gospel is! What are different principles and things that have to do with our church? Have them freeze and start a new round. This time have them pass the balloon and share different ways we can share the gospel or personal experiences they've had being missionaries. Freeze again! Have them pass around and share different places they'd like to serve missions or where family members have served.

President Joseph F. Smith, “We have a mission in the world: each man, each woman, each child who has grown to understanding or to the years of accountability, ought . . . to be qualified to preach the truth, to bear testimony of the truth” (Gospel Doctrine, 13th ed. [1968], 251–52).

Bear your own testimony how it's important to preach the gospel, but we need to know what the gospel is!! You can send the children home with pages 5 &6 of Preach My Gospel. The section is entitled the Gospel of Christ and they can read it at home as families.

* Have a large jar filled with jelly beans. Let children write their names and guess how many jelly beans are in the jar on a small piece of paper. Collect their guesses. Would it be a good idea to go home and eat all the jelly beans in 30 seconds or less? What would happen to your teeth if you ate all the jelly beans? Would it be better to eat all the jelly beans by yourself or possibly share with someone?

What about with the gospel? Is it better to keep all the knowledge we have to ourselves or share? Continue on with your lesson about missionary work and end with giving the jelly beans to whoever got the closest guess. Have ziplock bags with 10 jelly beans for each child and the quote, "Sharing is caring!! President John Taylor has said, 'Our duty is to preach the gospel to all men. . . . This is what God expects of us" (The Gospel Kingdom, sel. G. Homer Durham [1943], 234–35).Tell the children they have the choice to go home and share their candy or eat it all by themselves, just like they have the choice to go and share the gospel or not!
Make sure to remind the winner of the jar of the special importance they've just received!! What a blessing to have so much and when you have so much you should.... GIVE!!! End with Because I Have Been Given Much (Hymn #219) 

* I just liked this quote and thought it was a great analogy found off of mormon.org, " Imagine you found a cure for cancer. How urgently would you spread the news of your discovery? Who would you tell? The gospel of Jesus Christ is the cure for so many of life's ills that Mormons want to share the good news of eternal life with the same urgency.

The Lord's Church has always been a missionary church. Jesus Christ's life was the perfect example of missionary work. During His ministry on earth, he taught the gospel at all times, in all places, and to all kinds of people. Jesus taught the educated men in the temple, the sinners, the faithful and the unbelieving. He also called apostles and other disciples to preach the gospel so more people could hear about the blessings of His gospel. Most of their preaching during Christ's life was to their own people, the Jews. After Jesus was resurrected, He visited His apostles and sent them to preach to the gentiles. He commanded them, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15)."

Week 2 Missionary work blesses everyone.

*" President Kimball has referred to missionary service as high adventure. He did so because the work is stirring and exciting. It is a bold undertaking, and it is one that requires the finest courage.

I once saw an advertisement of a movie that said, “Greatest adventure story of escape.” I thought to myself, “They don’t know what adventure is until they have tried to help someone escape from sin, or have pulled somebody back from the brink of a spiritual death, or have wrestled with evil forces, or have marched with the army of God.” There is no greater adventure, no more excitement, nothing more stirring than full-time service in the work of the Lord." Elder Carlos Asay (Ensign Oct. 1985) 

Have a large piece of paper with a book outline on it. Invite primary friends to create a book cover having to do with missionary work or what excites them about the gospel! What is the greatest adventure story? Certainly not the one that Elder Asay saw the movie preview for! The greatest story ever known is the life of Christ and when we know this story and share this story, all are blessed.

* From Preach My Gospel pg. 197 & 198 it says, "People need a reason to change their thoughts and actions. Promised blessings often provide powerful motivation to obey God. When the Lord gives a commandment, He often promises blessings for keeping that commandment (see D&C 130:20–21). As you prepare people to obey a specific commandment, teach them that:

• Living the commandments shows love for God and His Son.

• They demonstrate their trust in God as they obey His commandments.

• In return, they will receive blessings that He has promised.

As you testify of a commandment, talk about the blessings you have received from living that commandment. Promise those whom you teach that they can enjoy similar blessings. As people strive to keep a commitment, ask them to talk about the blessings that Heavenly Father has given them. Assure them that even though difficulties will enter their lives, His blessings will continue as they obey His will."

Have 2 children come to the front and be member missionaries. Have them draw out of a hat a gospel principle or commandment. Let them share what that principle means and how it's blessed their lives.
(For example, they draw out faith... Faith is believing in things you can't see. One time I was very sick but I had faith I could be healed. My dad gave me a blessing and I got better.)

*Bring in bowl of water. Have a child throw a small pebble into the bowl. What happens? What is a ripple? Is there any part of the water that doesn't move when the pebble is thrown in? Missionary Work is like a ripple. It spreads and touches all parts of the world and blesses everyone!! Or another analogy could be taking a glass and overfilling it with water... what just happened?? It spilled! It over-flowed!! President Kimball said that “the missionary work, like the tithing, will pour out blessings, as Malachi said, so many blessings that there’ll hardly be room enough to receive them. (See Mal. 3:10.)” (In Area Conference Report, Korea, Aug. 1975, p. 61.)

* Bring in a couple small costumes and act out the story of Alma and Abinadi. See Mosiah 17 and 18. All it took were the words of the prophet and one missionary willing to be an instrument of the Holy Ghost, and then  "... It came to pass that all this was done in Mormon, yea, by the waters of Mormon, in the forest that was near the waters of Mormon; yea, the place of Mormon, the waters of Mormon, the forest of Mormon, how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for they shall sing to his praise forever." (Mosiah 18:30)

* Print pictures of people who you feel would edify your lesson and share their stories with the children. This is a good opportunity to show children that members of the gospel come in all sorts of different colors, looks and places... but our belief in Christ is the same! Click HERE or HERE to see what some members have to say about blessings and missionary work.....

Week 3 I can prepare now to serve a mission.

* HERE is a great sharing time from the Friend by Linda Christensen.

* HERE is a great sharing time and handout/search and find with things that will help prepare for missions.

* Captain Moroni was awesome! He had a tough job keeping the Lamanites from killing all the Nephites and keeping the Nephites from self-destruction! One of his jobs was to prepare cities for all the fighting. In Alma 50: 1-6 it talks about all he did. Put up a picture of Moroni and go over all his preparations. What might have happened if Moroni hadn't prepared? Would you rather live in one of his stronghold cities or one that wasn't prepared? Well, we have the choice to prepare ourselves nice and strong for missions or not. It's up to us to make that good choice!!

*Proverbs 30:25 "The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer" Obviously ants are not people, so what is this scripture talking about?  Why do ants work so hard to gather food in the summer? Have some paper ants on the board that the children can choose songs, scriptures and questions having to do with missionary work. Perhaps you can have a picture of a picnic basket with the word mission on it... play around with the idea.... Our time is now and we need to prepare for our missions!

* Hebrews 11:7 "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith."
Having faith and preparing go hand in hand! Have the children come up to the front and pantomime an animal action. Let others try to guess what animal they are pretending to be. After they do so, have them fill in the blank... Just as Noah was prepared for the flood, I can prepare for my mission by.............

Week 4 I can be a missionary now.

* HERE is a great sharing time from the Friend where you can make a little box to take home. It's by Sister Margaret Lifferth.

* HERE is another good sharing time from Sister Sydney Reynolds in the Friend.

* HERE is a sharing time talking about missionary and harvest work from the Friend by Pat Graham.

* Have a piece of paper that says, "I can be a missionary NOW & I can be a missionary LATER." Have children draw pictures or write sentences under NOW & LATER on what they can do to be good missionaries. Get some NOW & LATER candy and make a card for the missionaries in your ward. Give the candy and card to the missionaries pledging the primary's support to spreading the gospel NOW & LATER!! There is even a poem HERE  (Scroll down a little) about it!!

* What does an Apostle say about being a missionary now? See HERE. This would be a great handout to take home and read with families!

* You could break into small groups and have a some different adults summarize some missionary stories from the friend or make felt board stories. The following are links from The Friend to some great missionary NOW stories:
Me? A Missionary Now?
A Missionary Now
Teaching Tanner's Teacher
What Can I Do to Be a Missionary?

* Does anyone have an old November 1994 Friend Magazine? Because in it is a board game called "I Can Be a Missionary Now"... I bet that would be fun!

* Have the children pretend they don't know anything about the church. What would they want to know? Have them write down their questions and put in a jar. Now let's be member missionaries and draw questions out of the jar and answer them!!

August 2011 LDS Primary Sharing Time Helps and Ideas

Let me preface, I drive a Granny Car, and am proud of it. My car is a little more dilapidated than this one I found on a google search. Mine has 2 broken windows that can't roll down... because well, they won't roll back up. The air conditioning is broke and I think I'm missing a couple hubcaps. Plus some paint is coming off in the back. Really? You might be thinking... you're proud to drive your Buick Roadmaster?? Yes. Yes I am. Because I don't have a car payment, so all the money that would go to a car payment can be spent on gas.

...

Point?

I'm glad our bodies aren't cars. Sure, cars are a lot like our bodies- but in the grand scheme of things, God is and always will be smarter than Ford. Or Buick. Take your pick.

Monthly Theme: My body is a temple of God.
Monthly Scripture: "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? ...The temple of God is holy, which temple ye are” 1 Corinthians 3:16–17

Week 1 My body is a temple.

* Personal reading for you about this week's theme... yes you. I'm talking to you. Not your dad. Click HERE. See. Aren't you glad you read that?

* Pres. Boyd K. Packer (I heart Boyd) says, “Our physical body is the instrument of our spirit” (Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled [1991], 211). Bring in a variety of different instruments. Divide into groups and let the children come up with a song or a chant. You can give groups topics like, "How do I treat my body like a temple." or "I love my body because...." or "Bodies are like temples because...." Let them play instruments during their songs.
This would be a good time to reinforce the concept that our bodies are merely tools and only work because of our spirits. Would an instrument work on the ground all by itself? No! It needs someone to play it!!
Just like instruments can play beautiful music, our bodies can be beautiful too if we treat them as the temple they are!!

* LOVE LOVE LOVE this sharing time by Sister Matsumori found HERE in the Friend.

* Time to whip out some old Ensign magazines and scour for temple pictures. Have the children draw pictures of themselves and then use the pictures of temples to cut out clothing for their bodies. Or you could just have the temple and they draw arms, legs and a head coming out from it. Obviously, this is not how we look!! But our bodies are just as sacred as the Holy Temple we do ordinance work in. Have the children write a few words down on why they love their bodies/temples.
Romans 12:1 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

* Have a bunch of different pictures of temples and people on the black board. Ask the children how all the pictures on the board are the same? They are all temples of God!! Attach scriptures, songs and questions having to do with the week's theme: My Body is a Temple, on the backs of the pictures. Let the children come up and choose a picture and then do what it says on back one at a time.

Week 2 Dressing modestly shows respect for Heavenly Father and myself.

* Word of caution. If you choose to bring in barbie dolls to teach this, it's your choice. But I'm willing to bet (It's the Nevadan in me) that at least 50% of LDS parents will not be comfortable with their lil' boys dressing a naked barbie. I would never bring in barbies personally because I just think it's odd, but to each his own. If you've prayed about it and feel good then do your thang... but be prepared, you might get a nasty talking to from some parents. I also WOULDN'T show examples of immodest clothing because I like to keep things positive. Let parents point out the saucy things in life, and teachers focus and emphasize the good. Again, this is just a word of caution.... personal ditty and opinion.

* Bring in a large laundry hamper full of modest clothes. Divide into groups and give each group a suitcase and an airplane ticket to one of the following: Canada, Hawaii, China, Russia/Siberia, etc. Write in large words on the chalkboard, "WHERE IN THE WORLD CAN WE BE MODEST?" Perhaps you can even have a map displayed. Have the children reverently choose one piece of clothing to pack in their group suitcase from the laundry hamper. No fighting over any clothes, or you won't be able to pack because then the clothes would be ripped and immodest!!! While in their groups have them come up with 3 ways to share with the Primary on how to be modest. Then have them share what they packed and why. Is it easier to be modest in a colder place than a hotter place? Have them answer the question on the board.... the answer should be EVERYWHERE in the world we can be modest!!!

* Have children make modest paper doll clothing!! For older children, they might be more into "Fashion Sketches". Have the children share their work with each other and invite the Bishop in to choose a design he really likes. Perhaps if there is someone in the ward who sews, they can turn that design into reality and give the finished product to the missionaries to give to an investigator.
* Put on a modesty Primary show! Invite reverent children (Or perhaps even a couple teachers!) to come up front and work it down a red carpet, do a turn and walk back to the front. Ham it up, have a toilet paper roll with foil balled on the end as a microphone. Wear a large hat and feather boa. Ask the children how each model is dressed modestly? You can have the pianist playing Dare to Do Right or Stand For the Right in the background as they walk. You can ask them questions like, How do you feel when you are obedient and dress modestly? Why is it important to dress modestly? How does dressing modestly show respect for Heavenly Father? Do you have to have fancy clothes to be modest? How important is cleanliness when it comes to modesty?
Question for YOU, yes you... not Rod Stewart: What if a child isn't dressed modestly? DON'T MAKE THEM FEEL BAD. Plain and simple.

* Again, bring in a bunch of old CHURCH magazines. Let the children cut and paste a "Modesty" collage on a 8 1/2 X 11 piece of paper. Have them label it with the week's theme. They can choose pictures of clothes or people who are modest and make some beautiful art for the kitchen refrigerator. It will be an excellent reminder to our family about this important gospel principle!!

* Have each letter of RESPECT on a piece of paper. On the back of each letter's paper, have a picture of a modest person. Invite the children to talk about why the person is modest and how it is respectful.
Psalms 119:6 "Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments."

Week 3 Living the Word of Wisdom shows respect for my body.

* Explain that we are going to have a cooking demonstration. Invite a child to come up front and cut bananas, another one do strawberries... have another child add some yogurt and yet another child add in some grapes. (Please no sharp knives and be mindful of food allergies) Have small cups for the children to sample. Was the fruit salad cooking demonstration something that is good for our bodies?
Have the children play win-win-draw with foods and other things having to do with the Word of Wisdom that are good for our bodies. (They come up to the blackboard and draw, for example, an apple... then someone from the Primary guesses what they have drawn)

* Sister Judy Edwards wrote a simple and great sharing time found HERE. I find that the more simple, the better!! So rock on Sister Edwards and thank you.

* Have the children act out the story of Daniel refusing the King's meat. HERE are details from the story.

* Break into groups and have them pass a healthy food around as you sing The Word of Wisdom. (CS #154) When the music stops, the person holding the healthy food has to name something that is good for our bodies. For older children you can make it a little more challenging by giving them a certain letter that the healthy food has to start with.

* Have a bunch of healthy recipes and let the children make a recipe book for their family!! Make copies of the recipes and let the children draw pictures of how they think the finished food will look like.... Always make a copy or example to show them/give them some starting ideas. Display a bunch of different cook books and let the children end Primary by sharing some recipes they think would be healthy for our bodies in those books. On the chalk board you can have the words written- A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS- THE WORD OF WISDOM!!!

Week 4 Reading, watching, and listening to wholesome things keeps my mind clean.

* Break into different stations: One with books, DVD's and CD's. Have a person at each station prepare a 4 minute ditty on some of their favorites having to do with that station. Invite the children to share some of their favorites.
"Two obligations face the saints where the matter of environment is concerned: 1. To create for themselves and their families the most wholesome and edifying environment possible, so there will be less chance of any member of the family circle being lost through transgression; and 2. To rise above every unwholesome environmental situation that may be encountered during the course of this mortal probation. …"Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1966], p. 229).

When we fill our minds with the good, we'll be able to do what Elder McConkie says and rise above the unwholesome!!
* Put A B C D F on the board. Why do we get grades? Elder Marvin J. Ashton has said, "We have a tendency to rate or grade others, and they do the same to us. If our perspective is proper, we use these ratings or gradings to motivate us to reach high levels of achievement and self-discipline. The whole concept of ratings enables us to set high goals and provides the challenge to us to achieve them. In spite of this inborn desire to achieve, there remains an area where the attainment of high or good ratings seems to be ignored. I speak of the growing numbers of movies, books, magazines, theatrical productions, and television programs where efforts to glorify immorality or violence have become predominant. “Rated R”...has replaced the idealism of being “Rated A.” (Ensign Nov. 1977)

Come up with different case scenarios having to do with good or bad books, movies, and music. Have children rate whether it's an A or an F. We need to be good judges of the different positions we're put into and grade wisely!!

An example of a case scenario could be: Helen is at school and is looking through the library. She notices 2 boys reading a book with a scary skull on the front. Is it a pirate book? She's asks. The boys tell her it's a book that is so scary it will give her nightmares at night.... it's not about pirates, it's just about tons of different scary things.

Another example: Perry is walking home with some friends. They are listening to some popular music from the radio on their headphones. One of the songs talks about girls in immodest swimwear. Perry feels uncomfortable, even though he's not listening to the music. What should he do?

Or: Belinda and Tim can't wait to read the magic tree house #38!! They have read #'s 1 through 37 and have learned so much. From Mummies to Dolphins, this next one promises to teach them something new!
* This is a great lesson that can be adapted from the Aaronic Priesthood manual.

* This idea is from the Old Testament: Gospel Doctrine Manual:

"Have a volunteer stand at the front of the class with his or her hands held forward. Tie a strand of thread loosely around both of the class member’s wrists. Explain that this one thread represents an unclean thought. Then have the class member break the thread by pulling his or her hands sharply outward.

• What should we do when an unclean thought enters our mind? (We should dismiss it immediately.)
Ask the class member to hold out his or her hands again. Wrap the class member’s wrists with a few strands of thread—enough to make it more difficult to break them. Then ask the class member to try to break the strands of thread. Repeat this process using enough strands of thread to make it impossible to break free.
• What happens when we allow unclean thoughts to stay in our minds?
Free the class member’s hands by cutting the thread with the scissors. Explain that part of this lesson deals with the consequences of dwelling on unclean thoughts. The lesson also discusses ways to free ourselves from unclean thoughts."

*3 Nephi 12:8 "And blessed are all the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Would it make sense to say if you had a clean mind, you'd have a pure heart? Perhaps even clean hands? Have a table full of eye glasses with songs, scriptures and questions having to do with the week's theme. If we keep ourselves busy with wholesome things and do what is right, we'll one day see God like the scripture says... Joseph Smith sure did!!

July 2011 LDS Primary Sharing Time Helps and Ideas

A picture I took from our recent vacation to the motherland aka California-

San Diego Temple

Monthly Theme: The Temple Is a House of God.

Monthly Scripture: “Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally” The Family: A Proclamation to the World, paragraph 3

Week 1  God has commanded His people to build temples.

* D&C 88: 119 "Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God."

Divide into groups. Give each group an outline of a house and a word from the above scripture, e.g. fasting, faith, learning, glory, order. Have them draw a picture of what that word means or for older primary, have them list scriptures that can explain the term. Have them discuss and be ready to share with the whole primary how each of these words have to do with temples.

* D&C 97:15 "And inasmuch as my people build a house unto me in the name of the Lord, and do not suffer any unclean thing to come into it, that it be not defiled, my glory shall rest upon it;"

Bring in a construction hat and tool belt. Heavenly Father has commanded us to build temples. How do we build them? There is an article from the Ensign, Worthy to Enter By Elder Daryl H. Garn, where he talks about what is expected of the workers who actually build temples.

Have about 6 signs numbered 1-6 throughout the room. On the back of the paper, have a part of the Houston Temple (Just like they will be putting together a puzzle) All quotes come from the above talk. Choose a child to wear the hat and tool belt and choose a number. Read to them the following and have them answer a question to see what's on the back, and then build the temple picture. Tell the children that what we will be learning comes from a general authority who went to Houston to see how that temple would be built. He asked a lot of questions to the construction supervisor and this is what he learned.

1- "Contractors are told that there is to be no graffiti on the walls of the temple. Often, workers at construction sites will write inappropriate things on the walls. Brother Rowley shared an incident he had experienced a few days previously. He had noticed some inappropriate words written on a wall of the temple and reminded the contractor of their agreement. The following day, he noticed that the words had been painted over. He went to the contractor again and told him that the offensive words were still on the wall of the temple and needed to be removed. The next morning, the paint and the words were sanded off the temple wall." Now ask your primary friend- Why is it important that there is no graffiti in the temple?

2- "Contractors are told that all the rooms in the temple will be finished and painted. That day in the temple, every room was painted white. Even the storage rooms and mechanical rooms were white. There were no dark places in the temple." Why do you think the color white is so important in the temple?
3- "How blessed we are to have temples! The holy temple is “the place of [the Lord’s] throne” on the earth (Ezekiel 43:7). President Gordon B. Hinckley has told Church members: “Until you have received the sacred [temple] ordinances of the gospel, you have not received all of the wonderful blessings which this Church has to offer. The great and crowning blessings of membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are those blessings which come to us in the house of the Lord." How is the temple the Lord's throne?
And thank you very much, you are lovable and capable. You can come up with 3 other quotes and questions from the article :) Si? Si!!

* On the chalk board have a picture of the temple and the week's theme written, "God has commanded His people to build temples."
Have 5 chairs up front. Invite 5 children to come up and play Reverent Chairs. Each chair will be numbered and they will walk around the chairs while the primary sings songs having to do with commandments (Look up commandments in the topics section in the back of the Children's Songbook, there are about 10) Once the music stops, they sit in a chair. Have another primary friend come up and draw from a hat a number and from another hat a question having to do with temples. The person sitting in that number chair gets to answer the question and if they need help, they can choose another number to help them. After each question, choose another 5 friends to come up.

* Um, yeah.... This is another GREAT one from the Friend by Judy Edwards. Click HERE.

Week 2 Families are blessed through sacred temple ordinances.

* Sing My Eternal Family as a primary. How does a person build their family? Could we build a family if we didn't have temple ordinances? Have a bag of dress up clothes and build a family in primary! Choose children one at a time to come up front and represent mom, dad, brother, sister, grandma, etc. To earn clothes for dad the primary will have to answer a couple questions or read a scripture about temples. Next, we move on to mom, to earn clothes we'll have to sing I Love to See the Temple.... You'll need to come up with other questions and scriptures for the rest of the family members. Have each family member stay in the front as you build them. Have a picture of the temple on the chalkboard and end your lesson by singing My Eternal Family one more time.

* I LOVE this sharing time from the Friend. Click HERE. I would definitely use the gum drop idea and just tweak it by having a primary friend come to the front and name 2 or 3 things about temples or how to have eternal families to earn a gumdrop temple to place on a map. Read Pat's introduction about the hymn- The Spirit of God and then end your lesson by having the children sing it.

* Play Mystery Families. You'll need to get about 10 different pictures of different primary friend's families at the temple. When you call the families on the phone, ask them to share with you a special experience they've had at the temple, or just some thoughts they have on the temple (for your clues for the sharing time). Have the pictures covered with something with a big question mark. Tell the children today we're going to learn about temples and how they bless families. We have some pictures of some mystery families and you're going to share some clues with the primary to see if they can guess who that family is!

* Sing Families Can Be Together Forever (CS 188) Have an 11X17 piece of paper for each of the children. Use an 8 1/2 X 11 for them to draw a picture of their family.  Then have a smaller picture of a local temple in your area (you can actually have a photo made for about 8-10 cents each). Have the children glue their family picture and temple picture on the larger sheet of paper. Then have a small square of paper to put under the temple picture where they can write (or a teacher can write for them) something they know to be true about temples. It will be a masterpiece they can hang in their home to remind their families the importance of temples and blessings!!

* HERE is a nice handout/activity children can do at home to reiterate this week's lesson. Make sure to print out the article of course as well as the cut out figures.

Week 3 The pioneers worked hard and sacrificed to build temples.

* HERE is a wonderful sharing time from the Friend entitled Pioneers and Temples by Vicki F. Matsumori

* In regards to the Kirtland temple (like the Sharing Time Outline says)... "In addition to their great personal efforts, the Saints spent from forty to sixty thousand dollars on the temple. Because they were so willing to sacrifice in building the temple, the Lord poured out great blessings upon them. From 21 January to 1 May 1836 probably more Latter-day Saints beheld visions and witnessed other unusual spiritual manifestations than during any other era in the history of the Church. Members of the Church saw heavenly messengers in at least ten different meetings, and at five of these gatherings different individuals testified that they had beheld the Savior Himself. Many experienced visions, some prophesied, and others spoke in tongues." (pg. 164 Church History in the Fullness of Times Student Manuel)

On the black board have a path of 10 squares leading to the Kirtland Temple- it could be as simple as drawing them in chalk. Have a paper pioneer you can move to each square. Read THIS, yes... all of it, and especially carefully the part "Building the Lord's House". Come up with 10 things you'd like to share with the children on the early saints and the construction of the Kirtland Temple. Have a primary friend come to the front while you share something and then answer a simple question or 2 about what you've said to move the pioneer closer to the temple...for example (Quote taken from above link)
"But the Saints were so poor, an early member recalled, that "there was not a scraper and hardly a plow that could be obtained among the Saints". Nevertheless, "unity, harmony and charity abounded to strengthen" them to fulfill the commandment to build the temple." Why do you think they needed a plow? Has there ever been a time in your life where you worked peacefully with another person that you'd like to share?

* THIS is the most awesome pioneer story ever. You could easily turn it into a felt story or have a couple children come to the front to dress up and act it out while you tell the children. I would start off asking the children if they've ever heard of a name that is a little strange. Well, you have the best story about a wonderful pioneer child named GOBO FANGO!!! But just as a side note, the article is incorrect. Gobo was a slave. He was also denied the priesthood and while I wouldn't delve into this complex subject with the primary children, I think our testimonies can be strengthened by the extreme hardships faced by early Black pioneers and their faith that was equal to that of Job's.

 

Week 4 I can prepare to be worthy to go to the temple.

*I know I said a Reader's Theater would be coming soon... but that didn't happen. Instead I went dental. I don't know whether I've been spending too much time downtown for our local Reno's festivities in Art, however, the amount of meth mouth is staggering. Also, the sheer quantity of men that wear shorts shorter than I do is disturbing. Ahh... the different flavors of life. I digress.

 We've had this game for ages and it's a favorite.

Introduction Activity (1 minute): What do we do before we go to the dentist? Meet Anastassatos Alligator. He has teeth, we have teeth. We need to take care of our teeth and prepare for the dentist! Just like the dentist, there are certain things we need to do to prepare for the temple!

Activity: Using the chalkboard, make a path/curvy line to Jesus with small marks. Have a primary friend (boy or girl) magnet you can move along the path. Using Anastassatos Alligator, count each # it takes before he chomps you. If you’re able to answer the question correctly, then you can move our primary friend closer to the picture of Jesus. Make sure to have lots of temple pictures displayed.

Questions:
*What are temples? (houses of the Lord)
*Why can’t everyone go in the temple?
*What is the most important purpose or reason we go to the temple?
(The principle purpose is to provide ordinances necessary for the children of God to enable them to return to dwell with Him)
* How have you felt when you’ve been to a temple?
* What does endowment mean?
(Gift-The endowment focuses on the Savior, His role in Heavenly Father's plan, and the personal commitment of each member to follow Him.)
* What are other temple ordinances?
* Please read Isaiah 2:2-3
* Why should you want to go to the temple?
* What is written over the doors of the temple?
(Holiness to the Lord)
* Why are temples dedicated?
* How would you explain to a friend about baptisms for the dead done in temples?
* Are the things we do in the temple secret or sacred?
* Why do you think people wear white in the temple?
* How do you feel about paying tithing and why is that important for temple worship?
*How often should we go to the temple?
*What are the best things you can do to prepare now to go to the temple?

Conclusion: Just like we have to brush our teeth and floss and be consistent and constant in maintaining our dental health, we need to be diligent in our spiritual health! We need to prepare now to go to the temple!! Bear testimony.

You'll notice I didn't focus a lot on the things we need to do to prepare, which is the lesson theme. I just felt like there are a lot of basics that children don't understand about the temple. They know what they need to do, but sometimes the temple can be a little mysterious. These questions provided a basic framework. Of course, you can use whatever questions you are inspired to ask!

I also had some extra toothpaste and toothbrushes that I handed out to some reverent superstars. If you have My Gospel Standards posters to pass out to the children, that would be wonderful too!